Defending their Honor
While the high moon rose above all in the , a man with maroon-coloured hair appeared in the center of Soul Society, an aura of seriousness surrounding him. Immediately after arriving, the man began to search the barracks of each individual division within the , searching for, at the moment, an unknown person or item. At that same time, a young woman, with shimmering, rose-colored hair that stood out like a diamond in the rough and purple eyes that showed signs of slowly healing from her trauma, Hizashi Yoshi, approached this person, wary of him. Feeling a presence behind him, the red-haired man quickly turned to face this mystery spy. "You are you." he demanded, his voice incredibly stern for someone that had just been spotted prying through the Gotei 13's barracks. While awaiting the spy's, who he learned was a woman, answered, the man placed his right hand on the handle of his blade, warning this woman to not do anything reckless. Grasping the hilt of her Zanpakutō, Hizashi growls, "What are you...doing here?" Her eyes focused on his blade, as she prepared to counter his attack if he decided to attack her. "It's not polite to answer a person's question with another question. So, I will ask again: who are you?" the man replied, slightly annoyed by this woman's lack of respect towards him. As she rested her fist on her own blade, the red-haired man watched her, knowing only the observant win the fight, if it came to that... "I am Kenpachi Yoshi, Captain of the 11th Division." Tensing, Hizashi states, "W-What are you doing here?" At the same time, she thought, "Ugh...Just when I needed some information, he comes along and jeapordizes my chances...!" Slowly relaxing, Hizashi loosens the grip on her sword, ready to inquire about this man. After hearing of the woman's title, the man smirked. "Kenpachi, eh?" he thought as he decided he'd allow his thoughts to be known. "What is your real given name?" he asked, knowing it would serve as a distraction for the young Captain of the eleventh division. Seemingly sucked into this distraction, Hizashi slowly answers, "H-Hizashi Yoshi. And why would this be important, might I ask? Then who are you?" Something wasn't right. They couldn't be trusted- bar one. "Why is this important? Because I like to know the people I'm talking to, and titles are not knowing someone. And little old me? I'm Naishō Kawahiru; perhaps you've heard of me?" he asked, a slight tone of boasting could be identified in his voice. As he awaited Hizashi's answer to his question, the red-haired boy observed his surroundings, making sure that if this small talk esculated into a full-out brawl, he'd know exactly whether or not to move to a more... suitable location. "Ahah, I haven't the foggiest clue who you are." Hizashi replied, holding her head, as she began to experience traumatic flashbacks from two hundred years ago. "G-GAAAAAH...! S-Stop...!" Caught off-guard by the sudden scream of agony, the Kawahiru clansman jumped. "Whoa! What's going on?!" he demanded as he ran towards the Kenpachi, hoping to identify a way to sooth the woman's apparently incredible pain. Gripping her Zanpakutō, Hizashi uttered, "Don't touch me...", ready to strike at any moment. She thought that he was no different than the rest of them. "Do not threaten me when I attempt to help you. If you do that, we are not going to be on good terms for much longer." the red-haired shinigami retorted, his voice incredibly serious for such an accusation. He was ready for a fight, and this woman wasn't... Slowly stepping back, Hizashi grasped the hilt of her blade even tighter. "...Don't you dare come any closer..." What would stop the horrific memories flowing through her mind? While she wished she could peacefully clear up the circumstances, the memories would not stop. Raising his own blade towards Hizashi, Naishō struck up a tone of irritation. "Look, I am not here to harm you, nor anyone. If you cannot accept that fact, that's your problem; not mine. So, if you would, leave me be as I continue my search here." he spat, tired of dealing with this "supposed" current Kenpachi of the eleventh division. After speaking his mind to the woman, the Kawahiru clansman re-sheathed his sword and began walking passed the woman, a look of disgust plastered to the man's face. Instantly swinging her Zanpakutō at Naishō, Hizashi looked at him, ready to start a fight. She thought that his shoulder brushed up against her own, and began to tremble before reassuring herself that this was the right choice. But Naishō had already unsheathed his own zanpakutō and blocked the swing with little effort at all. "Don't think that you can play games with me, Hizashi. I am called "the gamemaster" for a reason; I never lose games." Without another word, the red-haired shinigami appeared behind the woman, his blade merely millimeters from the side of her neck. "...!!" Her eyes widening in shock, Hizashi utilized Shunpo to quickly escape from such a dangerous situation, soumersaulting into the air. As white streaks of light flickered off her feet, Hizashi sheathed her blade in mid-air before landing on the ground, grasping the hilt once again. "There's no turning back now..." Hizashi uttered to herself. Out loud, she declared, "Then what would happen if you were to stumble upon a game that is unwinnable by design?" Gripping her Zanpakutō, she shouts, "Kamisori-fū!" Quickly, Hizashi unsheathed her blade, and launched a crescent moon-like projectile of compressed air from her sword at Naishō, aiming to strike him. However, similar to last time, the red-haired shinigami was already behind the Kenpachi, his blade drawn and aimed to slice through her mid-rift once commanded to. "You really think you can use riddles to beat me? And if a game is unwinnable, then neither would win. Who would invent such a boring game?" he pondered as he continued to keep his zanpakutō pointed directly at Hizashi, his concentration not even beginning to surface itself. "The only winning move in such a game is not to play." Gripping her Zanpakutō once again, Hizashi quickly spun around, attempting to strike her opponent with a powerful slash. Without the slightest effort, Naishō blocked the blade with his own, causing a small eruption of spiritual energy to erupt for the blades, the point where they made contact being the epicenter. As the reiryoku streamed passed the duo, the Kawahiru clansman used this as a distraction, appearing above his opponent's head, his zanpakutō aimed directly at the woman's cranium. Using Shunpo to barely evade the strike, Hizashi leapt backward once again. Just how powerful was this opponent? As she skidded along the ground, the female Kenpachi gripped her Zanpakutō. "Everything I try is futile against him...Tch. Then I'll have to take it to the next level. Shitaiga!" Hizashi engulfed the blade of her Zanpakutō with a large aura of energy. She then swung the sword at Naishō, releasing the aura at her opponent, hoping to strike him. "That was a worthless move," the red-haired shinigami remarked as he released a torrent of his spiritual energy, causing the energy blast before to completely dissipate. Immediately following the shockwave of reiryoku, Naishō ran up towards Hizashi, blade sheathed. Without so much as a word, the Kawahiru boy sent a rather large ball of flames towards his female opponent. While the fireball flew through the air, Naishō mouthed the words "Hadō #34 - Kongōbaku." "...Gh!" Being knocked back by her opponent's attack, Hizashi's body was knocked down, flailing along the ground. Weakly standing up, Hizashi almost ran foward...only to fall down again, using her blade as support. "D-Damn..." She uttered. One attack was enough to inflict severe damage upon Hizashi, while Naishō hadn't even recieved a scratch. Sheathing his blade, the red-haired Kawahiru walked up to Hizashi, a look of disappointment present. "You fail to trust anyone, as well know when you are defeated. When you've learned from these mistakes, let us fight again." he said, holding out his hand to help the female Captain up. Trembling, Hizashi silently grasped her blade and attempted to slash at her opponent, fearing the thought of being touched and the terrifying memories that flooded back into her head. "G-Get away..." She uttered as she slowly stood up. "Not again..." Naishō thought to himself as he realized this woman was not going to stop. Reacting accordingly, the Kawahiru boy unsheathed his blade again, but this time kept it close to his person, as not to seem ready to attack the young Kenpachi. "If you're going to make futile attempts on my life, just get it over with quickly, okay?" he spoke, his tone quite the opposite of serious. "Don't you dare mock me..." Hizashi spat in cold fury. Gripping the hilt of her Zanpakutō, she uttered through her teeth, "Awaken, Shijin!" In a flash of white light, her blade entered Shikai, though it remained the same in appearance. Leaping back, she pointed her blade at Naishō. Sighing, Naishō merely closed his eyes. "There is no mocking present in my voice. Since I was a toddler, I never once mocked anyone. That was just my opinion of how you're fighting; don't get mad over something so unimportant, for it can make you slip up even more than you're already doing." he spat back at his delusional adversary. Keeping his own zanpakutō down, the red-haired man awaited his opponent's next move. "..." Hizashi looked down, ashamed of herself. This fear of being touched by anyone was something she had to get over sooner or later. Not only that, as usual, her accusations were incorrect. Others were bothered by her unapproachable attitude, and it was beginning to make her feel isolated, in addition to affecting her fighting prowess. Shaking her head, she looked up at Naishō, she confidently stated, "Ahahah, I wasn't thinking straight before." an obvious excuse for her haphephobia. "Listen up, Naishō Kawahiru. Our true battle starts now." With that, Hizashi aimed a slash at his chest at blinding speed. Slightly caught off-guard by the quick movement, the red-haired Kawahiru attempted to dodge, but his shoulder was still caught by the powerful slash. After being sent back from the force of said attack, Naishō smirked. "Finally, something I can get into." he whispered into Hizashi's ear, the fallen noble being mere inches from the female Kenpachi. "I hope you're good at playing tag, 'cause you're it." he continued, slightly touching the woman in her side. Instead of using shunpō, Naishō simply ran, wondering if the Captain would chase after him even though he had just touched the haphephobic. Still grasping her Zanpakutō, Hizashi Yoshi chased after her opponent in annoyance, attempting to catch up with him and punch him in the face several times, as she slightly lagged behind. "D-Darn..." "Heh, it's always fun to have a good chase." Naishō yelled, hoping that Hizashi wasn't too far behind to hear his voice. "Ehh...ehh...is...is he serious?" Hizashi lamented, as she attempted to catch up with Naishō, exerting a majority of the strength in her body to at least keep up the pace with her opponent. "I'm not cut out for this...", she uttered. Smirking, the red-haired shinigami began to chuckle. "C'mon! If you can't keep up with a Lieutenant, then how do you expect to fare against your fellow Captains?" he mused, his voice half-serious, half-mocking. "...Tch..." Infuriated by her opponent's words, Hizashi was slightly shocked. Perhaps Naishō Kawahiru knew of her plan. Ignoring that thought, Hizashi once again attempted to catch up to him, grasping at his arm to no avail. "Shinigami lesson number 1: no matter how, you find a way to catch your opponent." Naishō mused, hoping it would help the poor, unfortunate Kenpachi in this time of need. "Why do I bother..." Hizashi uttered. Yet, the 11th Division Captain continued to attempt to catch her opponent, yet being the slightly-slow thinker she is, wondered how this would help her. "S-Stop...Ehh...ehh..." She panted, beginning to tire, yet she pushed her body to attempt to reach Naishō. Just as the woman reached out to grab the red-haired Kawahiru, he poked her shoulder from behind, the afterimage before her fading. "Too slow," he remarked, the mocking tone he used stung with each word that passed through the former Lieutenant's lips. "I can't believe someone like you is the Kenpachi of the eleventh division. The Gotei 13's standards must have dropped significantly since I left the organization." "..." Hizashi stared in disbelief. "...No...no way..." Gritting her teeth, she just stood there, before she became blinded with silent rage. "Now we're talking!" the Kawahiru clansman exclaimed, his voice clearly showing excitement. "..." Hizashi began to shake, before slowly standing up. Gripping her blade, she was alert of her surroundings, prepared to counter any attack the Kawahiru clansman would launch at her. Staring at the Kenpachi intently, Naishō did not allow any emotion to escape his person. "Seeing as you were the one to attack me, how 'bout you make the first move?" he asked, although he was confident that the female Captain would be attacking him soon enough. Category:Articles by Koukishi Category:Persona Superior Deus Category:PersonaSuperiorDeus